Techmeme
December 14, 2023, 1:50 PM

Top News

Jon Porter / The Verge:
Meta launches Threads in the European Union, following the US, the UK, and 100+ other countries, and adds a way for EU users to browse Threads without a profile  —  Meta's Twitter competitor, Threads, is now available in the European Union, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has announced.
Kirsten Korosec / TechCrunch:
Email: Cruise lays off 900 staff, or ~24% of its workforce, targeting non-engineering jobs, as part of a plan to slash costs and attempt to revamp the company  —  Cruise, the embattled GM self-driving car subsidiary, is laying off 900 employees, or about 24% of its workforce …
Reuters:
Benj Edwards / Ars Technica:
After an on-by-default AI toggle caused confusion, Dropbox says the company only shares user data with OpenAI when the AI search feature is actively being used  —  AI feature turned on by default worries users; Dropbox responds to concerns.  —  On Wednesday, news quickly spread on social media …
Simon Willison / Simon Willison's Weblog:
Threads: @jinaX: @rstankov, @bengoldhaber, @iethics, and @simonwForums: Hacker News
Gavin Bonshor / AnandTech:
Intel launches the Core Ultra H and the Core Ultra U series, its first mobile processors based on the Meteor Lake platform for power-efficient mobile AI chips  —  Intel has released their first mobile processors based on their highly anticipated Meteor Lake platform, the Core Ultra H and the Core Ultra U series.
Kif Leswing / CNBC:
Emma Roth / The Verge:
Guthrie Scrimgeour / Wired:
A look at Koolau Ranch, Mark Zuckerberg's 1,400-acre, $270M+ compound in Kauai, Hawaii, with a 5,000 sq. ft. underground shelter, a project shrouded in secrecy  —  Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is building a sprawling, $100 million compound in Hawaii—complete with plans for a huge underground bunker.
AJ Vicens / CyberScoop:
Microsoft seizes US-based infrastructure and websites used by cybercrime group Storm-1152 that created ~750M fraudulent Microsoft accounts, after a court order  —  Relying on a court order, the tech giant seized websites belonging to a top purveyor of fraudulent Microsoft accounts.
Jason Koebler / 404 Media:
Three Polish hackers say they fixed trains allegedly bricked by manufacturer Newag because an independent repair shop worked on them; Newag denies bricking them  —  Join the newsletter to get the latest updates.  —  Success  —  Great!  Check your inbox and click the link.  —  Error
Umar Shakir / The Verge:
Google plans to test Tracking Protection and blocking third-party cookies on January 4 for ~1% of Chrome users globally, ahead of a phased rollout in H2 2024  —  Google is about to launch its grand plan to block third-party cookies in Chrome that many websites use to track your activity across the web for profit.
Emma Roth / The Verge:
Twitch now allows some previously prohibited sexual content, including “deliberately highlighted breasts, buttocks or pelvic region”, with a sexual themes label  —  Twitch is updating the way it responds to sexual content.  As part of the change, the streaming platform will now allow …
Jordan Novet / CNBC:
Sources: LinkedIn shelves its effort, announced in 2019, to relocate its data centers out of its physical facilities and into Azure, a setback for Microsoft  —  - LinkedIn called off a plan to move technology to Microsoft Azure, a setback for its parent company, which is chasing Amazon Web Services.
Subrat Patnaik / Bloomberg:
Apple's stock rose 1.7% to close at $197.96 on December 13, surpassing its previous record close in July 2023 and up 52% for the year, for a $3.08T market cap  —  - Shares surpass July high, putting market cap at $3.08 trillion  — Revenue seen growing again in 2024 after falling this year
Jaspreet Singh / Reuters:
Sensor Tower: 51 of the top 100 US advertisers on X in October 2022, when Elon Musk bought the platform, have ceased ad spending on X as of November 2023  —  Big U.S. companies including Walt Disney and Comcast increased advertising spending on Instagram after pausing commercials on X last month …
Chris Welch / The Verge:
Apple begins selling a $99 USB-C charging case for its second-generation AirPods Pro as a standalone purchase; delivery estimates are for after Christmas  —  Apple has begun selling the USB-C charging case for its second-generation AirPods Pro as a standalone purchase.  But it doesn't come cheap.

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Featured Podcasts

Channels with Peter Kafka:
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Lenny's Podcast:
Father of the iPod and iPhone on building taste, judgment, and creativity in the AI era | Tony Fadell
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The Upstarts Podcast:
Vanta's Christina Cacioppo: The Underdog Turning 'Nonsense' Compliance Into A $4.2B Security Standout
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AI's Mythos Moment: Rishi Sunak on preparing governments for AI
Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith speaks with leaders in government, business, and culture to explore the most critical challenges at the intersection of technology and society.
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More News

Bloomberg:

Earlier Picks

Natasha Singer / New York Times:
Alexandra Bruell / Wall Street Journal: